NO HOLIDAY
Ghosts of 2013 Gabba debacle still haunt Cats
MITCH Duncan is adamant Geelong has not ventured north for a holiday as the Cats prepare for Saturday night’s clash with Brisbane.
Still fresh in his mind is the 2013 Gabba disaster when the Cats gave up a 52-point thirdquarter lead against the Lions to lose the seemingly unlosable match after the siren.
Duncan, who will play his 150th match this weekend, yesterday said the Cats were des- perate to ensure there was no repeat of the 2013 “miracle on grass”.
“I’ve been on the end of a pretty bad loss when we were (more than) 40 points up and that sticks in my mind,” Duncan said.
“They’re a good side and they can score quickly. They like coming back through the corridor and we’ll be doing everything we can to stop that.”
As Duncan and fellow teammates Tom Lonergan, Andrew Mackie, Zach Guthrie and Sam Simpson flew in yesterday to join the core group on the Gold Coast, the silky midfielder reiterated it was strictly business.
“It’s definitely not a holiday,” Duncan said moments after touching down at Gold Coast Airport.
“The boys would’ve had a solid session on Tuesday, as we did back at home, and then we’ll train tomorrow (Thursday) and head up to Brisbane, so it’s not a holiday.
“It’s good to get a bit of sun today, it’s 24C compared to 12C back in Geelong, so that helps the mental freshen up.”
The Cats meet a rejuvenated Lions outfit that has won two of its past four games, including a strong comeback win over Essendon last week, and Duncan is well aware of the challenge his side faces at the Gabba.
“Chris Fagan’s got them playing great footy,” Duncan said.
“They’re a dangerous side when they’re up and going on their home deck. We’ve got to sniff out the excitement pretty early and get on top. If that doesn’t happen, they’ll get their confidence up because they’re playing some really good footy.”
Completing a remarkable comeback to down Essendon on Sunday, the Lions pose a threat to the third-placed Cats.